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[x-shinobi.livejournal.com]

Domino and Shinobi finally get a chance to meet face-to-face. Very much fluff.



Right number, right room. Domino beamed and knocked twice on the door. "Hello in there," she called out sweetly. "If I'm interrupting anything fun I can come back later!"

"I don't think sit-ups count as fun!" a muffled voice calls back, and after a moment's relative-silence to let Shinobi get to his feet and cross over to the door, it's drawn open. Such a good first impression for a Shaw to make, hair slightly mussy and wearing the time-honored t-shirt-and-sweatpants ensamble.

Leaning slightly on the doorframe, Domino gave him a long, up-and-down assessing look, her violet eyes gleaming and a wicked little smile playing on her lips. "About as cute as I figured," she proclaimed.

Well, that narrows it down. "Hi, Dom," Shinobi grinned, unable to keep from rolling his eyes. He takes a step back to clear the doorway, gesturing sweepingly with one arm. "I'm assured I'm cuter when I'm not all rumpled. C'mon in. It's just me in here, for the moment."

"Yeah, I bet you clean up real well," Domino said mischievously, gliding past him and picking the nearest chair, settling herself there elegantly. "So I interrupted sit-ups, did I? On a fitness kick?"

"A self-improvement kick," Shinobi confirmed, closing the door once she'd gotten inside. "As frightened as I am to say it, I think I'm getting used to waking up at four in the morning to go for a run at five.. though that part wasn't entirely my idea." He shrugged helplessly, and thumbed towards the kitchenette. "Get you a drink or anything, while I'm up?"

"Wouldn't mind some water," Domino said. "Always get so dehydrated on planes, and I've got several more starting tomorrow afternoon." Her eyes were moving around the suite as she spoke, taking in every detail. "Just a flying visit," she said. "Bring Nate his bird, beat him and Pete, check on Amanda..."

He made a noise of sympathy as he moved into the kitchen, snatching a glass. "Long flights are a pain in the ass. Very glad I don't have to deal with them so much anymore. Ice in your water?" He looked over his shoulder, waggling the as-yet empty glass inquisitively.

"Sure," Domino said. "And I'm not minding the flight over the Pacific quite as much as the ones I have to take when I get inland. By the time I get to the last plane in Ulaanbaatar, I may have to power it by flapping my arms."

"Sounds like you're going to the ass end of nowhere," Shinobi muses as he drops some ice into the glass, filling it with water before wandering his way over to offer it to Domino. "More things in need of exploding?"

"Sadly, nothing so fun. Though grand larceny has its own charm," Domino said, taking the glass and giving Shinobi her best dazzling smile. "Thank you. Cute and manners, too. Rarer combination than you'd think."

No man his age is immune to a dazzling smile, so it takes Shinobi a moment to clear his head enough to form a coherent response - though not as long as it could have. He does spend time around Emma Frost, after all. "Very welcome. I do enjoy surprising people. Speaking of which.. maybe you can do me a little favour." It was his turn to smile brilliantly, dropping down to sit in a nearby chair. "Do you have enough time to distract Sarah for me, for.. an hour, possibly two?"

"Dear, there is possibly one person in this house I couldn't distract for an hour or so, and I'm not even sure I'd exclude Charles like that." She grinned. "Of course, it depends on the distraction required. Am I allowed to agitate her, or do you need her well-rested for whatever you're planning?"

"Nah, you can enjoy yourself. I just need enough time to nip into town, pick up a present I owe her." He grins cheerfully. "Just don't break her or anything, and whatever your figure on should work just fine."

"Hmm." Domino leaned back in the chair, crossing her legs. "I'm tempted to share with her the story of what happened when I went off on my own revenge quest, you know." She smiled wryly at Shinobi. "Nate gave me a fairly detailed account of what happened. Not entirely coherent, mind you, because that was the week he'd decided sleep was beneath him. I got several repetitions of 'It's like you all over again, shoot me now...'."

"So long as it doesn't take the form of a lecture," Shinobi replied thoughtfully, propping his chin up in a hand with a small, ever-so-slightly strained smile.

"I don't lecture, Shinobi. Not fond of coming across as the hypocrite." She tilted her head, her smile going very speculative. "You aren't quite bouncing back from this, are you? Too bad there's no such thing as an emotional healing factor."

"I was doing a bit better, but Scott had pictures to go with his lecture." He shrugged helplessly, managing not to look like he felt too guilty as he straightened back up in his seat. "I'll manage. That's what the shrink's here for."

"She's alive, you're alive. In the final analysis, everything else is negotiable." Domino shook her head, laughing softly. "Listen to me. Five minutes after meeting you and I'm already giving you advice. I must be warming up for the aforementioned ass-kicking or something."

"She's alive because her mutation surprised us, and I'm alive because I wasn't there," Shinobi observed wryly. "I'll agree that it could have been a hell of a lot worse, but there's no denying that it could have been a hell of a lot better, too. Ah well. Learning experience."

"Yeah. Don't they just suck." Domino sipped at her water, giving him a thoughtful look. "Nate told me he told you about your father using me as a hostage that time?" she said abruptly. Major change of subject, but she felt strangely obligated to touch on it.

"They usually do," he agreed with the first, nodding sagely. And somehow managed to avoid getting whiplash at the change in subject. Adibbawibble? "Ah, I believe he did, though it was long enough ago that I'm fuzzy on the subject," he finally replied, blinking twice to get his head back into some semblance of order. "Not that he went into much detail.. this is Nate."

"Oh, you'd be surprised. Nate can get very talkative under the right conditions. Particularly if the conditions involve tequila. Although whether or not you can understand him when tequila is involved generally depends on how well you can match his scarily elliptical thinking." Domino told herself that she was babbling and shook her head again, as if to shake it off. "Anyway. I had the opportunity to meet your father a couple of years later. He had no idea who I was, of course. Wangled myself an invite to the London club." She smiled faintly. "I was just thinking you don't seem much like him."

"You haven't tried to leave yet, so reserve your judgement 'til you know if I'll let you leave or not," Shinobi observed innocently, though the observation clearly pleased him - it was always reassuring to be told he didn't remind someone of his father.

Domino raised an eyebrow, telling herself that Shinobi hadn't really meant it, but unable to quite suppress the instinctive reaction. "I flatter myself I'm a good judge of character," she said with a blithe smile, her fingers flickering on the arm of the chair. "Admittedly, sometimes my confidence has landed me in shit I haven't been able to handle, but even my luck doesn't always go in my favor."

Shinobi chuckled, inclining his head slightly. "No worries, luv. I think you've made a fair call of it this time 'round." He paused, and added, "Besides, you can't distract Sarah for me if I stash you away up here, can you? And then Nate would render me into a fine red mist, nevermind what you could likely do to me. So no hostage-taking sequels shall be taking place."

"Always good to know," she murmured, sipping at her water again and wondering at her own jumpiness. Not enough sleep the last couple of days, she supposed, going from Berlin to Rome to London and then New York. "So what's Sarah's present? Anything fun?"

"I think a puppy counts as fun," Shinobi replied thoughtfully, grinning to himself. "Found a fairly young litter of boxers in town, with a friend's help, and they seem like suitable vicious attack puppies to me."

"Ahh," Domino said with a smile. "Sudden profusion of pets around here, it seems. I'd recommend training it to keep well clear of Nate's bird at least until it grows a little. Vicious attack parrot and all."

"I'll make a note of it," Shinobi promised, his grin widening. "The bird wouldn't really go all divebomber on the poor pooch, would it?"

"You'll have to meet Bella," Domino said with a chuckle. "She's a hyacinth macaw. Three feet long, scarily intelligent, and absolutely besotted with Nate." A tiny, evil smile tugged at her lips. "I'm hoping Moira doesn't hate me for bringing her. I think she and Bella will almost certainly have issues."

"Oh, you are evil, aren't you?" Evil or no, Shinobi seemed to approve, snickering in amusement. "I'll definitely have to meet her, yes. And pray I wind up on her good side."

"Well, I'm betting Nate's walking around with her attached for the next couple of days, so I'm sure you'll get a chance." Domino shrugged. "They say pets help your stress levels. I'm not really all that fond of getting emails from Nate that make it sound like he's going to spontaneously implode every couple of weeks."

"He definitely needs an outlet of some kind," he agreed, making a bit of a face. "I think, perhaps, that the domestic life of not blowing things up so much is taking some adjusting."

"Like putting a tiger in a cage," Domino said, nodding. "And as much as he likes to pretend that he's a toothless tiger who really does want to lounge around in the sun, he's got entirely too much fire left in the belly."

He couldn't help but grin. "That sounds more like a dragon than a tiger."

"I've compared him to less flattering beasts," Domino said with another brilliant smile. "But yeah. Nate is not made for sitting around."

Shinobi nodded. "Few people here are. It's a wonder this place still has so many people in it, some days."

"Maybe you all need to get out more?" Domino suggested mischievously, sipping at her water. "Might help stress levels all around. Hey, Nate was telling me he was trying to start a rock-climbing group. You inot that sort of thing?"

"I've never tried, to be honest," Shinobi replied thoughtfully, reaching up to scratch at the back of his head. "Assuming Scott doesn't decide to torture me in some other fashion during those trips, if they get approved, I'll probably sign up. It does sound like it could be a bit of fun."

"Climbing is fun," she said. "He and I used to do a couple of mountains a year. He's convinced it's therapeutic." Domino grinned. "I mean, anyone who would consider climbing the Eiger in the middle of the winter is deeply in need of therapy himself, but... he's got a point." She waved a hand around at the school. "You all have a lot of complications in your life. Can't hurt to get out and do something...straightforward."

"Simple would be good, once in a while," Shinobi agreed heartily, returning his chin to its previous place in his hand. "And mountain climbing is pretty straightforward, yes. 'Go up. Admire view. Go down.'"

"Oh, I think he's planning to start off with some simple rock climbing," Domino said. "Doubt Charles would approve of his students potentially succumbing to altitude sickness. Although if he had enough interest from you older types, I'm sure it wouldn't take much to get him to consider arranging a trip to somewhere more vertical." She grinned. "I've had the most illuminating sorts of hallucinations up in the death zone."

"Illuminating, huh?" Shinobi eyed her, with a mixture of curiousity and amusement. "Why do I get the feeling that these hallucinations aren't the sort you'd want to talk about to those under legal age?"

Domino gave him a prim look. "Anything Nate might tell you about me running naked across the glacier at Camp 2 on Annapurna is a big fat lie."

"I didn't ask about his hallucinations," Shinobi countered innocently, with a smile to match. He is all innocence and sweetness and light, honestly he is.

"Nate doesn't hallucinate. Not on a climb, at least," Domino amended, a sparkle in her eyes. "He's a cheat. His former employers taught him this nifty telekinetic technique to compensate for altitude and insufficient oxygen. He explained it to me once, but I didn't get it."

"Spoilsports," Shinobi chuckled. "I mean, useful for a working lad, but takes away half the fun for when you're free to have some embarassment come your way."

"Mmm. And it leaves him free to be so terribly snide. I remember him looking down at me from the top of a crevasse I'd just tumbled into and criticizing my accent when it came to the Russian profanities I'd screamed on the way down."

He grinned in approval. "Russian's a good cursing language. Something in the pronunciation makes it a very.. satisfying language to curse a blue streak in."

"It sounds very vehement," Domino said helpfully, finishing off her water. "So," she said, "any particular time you want Sarah distracted, today? I've got a date with a scruffy Brit tonight, but otherwise my schedule is pretty much flexible."

He made a thoughtful noise, glancing between himself and the clock on the wall. "If you aren't busy in half an hour, that'd give me time to clean up first," he decided. "That sound workable?"

"Sounds good," Domino said, rising from her chair. "So long as I get to admire the puppy when you bring it back." She grinned. "Small, cute, and defenseless brings out my warm and fuzzy side."

"You can even ruffle his ears, if Sarah hasn't monopolized him before you can get to him," Shinobi grinned, also getting to his feet.

"You know, you're racking up a little list of ones you owe me," Domino said, batting her eyes at him as she drifted towards the door. "I'll have to think of how I want to collect."

"Just don't ask for anything that'd get me in trouble," he chuckled, peering after Domino with a slight tilt of his head. "I've just gotten started on this straight-and-narrow thing."

"Trouble? Me?" Domino blew a kiss at him, beaming. "I'll let you know."